Whilst I have only mentioned a handful of the youngsters in this article so far, the ones most prominent on last season’s team sheet, there are plenty more names to get excited about if you are a Liverpool fan. Daniel Pacheco, Andre Wisdom, Raheem Sterling, Suso and Thomas Ince are just a few of the young Reds’ stars that either impressed out on loan or in Liverpool’s youth ranks last season. Whilst it would be optimistic to say that every player thought to have a bright future will reach the top, the signs look good for Liverpool.
For now Dalglish may have to find the right mix of loans and first team squad players for next season. Last season’s exploits would be great experiences for the young players but the key now may be consistency, the dilemma for Dalgish is to whether that is in Liverpool’s first team, youth ranks or another club on loan.
For example midfielder Jonjo Shelvey made 21 appearances for the Reds last season but with the arrivals of Henderson and Adam in a similar position, Shelvey might not play as much when he needs first team football to really progress. The big money spent on these players, Henderson in particular, leaves little margin for failure for both the player and manager. Whilst the dilemma of how to balance promising stars and established names may cause Dalglish a few sleepless nights, it is a good problem for the Liverpool boss to face.
I think Dalglish’s belief in blooding young talent will continue and having such a pool of hungry young talent to choose from can only help his title push. But the investment from the owners and the general expectation for success on Merseyside makes Dalglish’s next season at the Liverpool helm a vitally important one for the boss. Few excuses can be made for another stuttering campaign and Dalglish may have to put his faith more in his star signings rather than untried teenagers over the next twelve months.
The article was written by Jenny Kerwood for FootballFancast.com. Make sure to check out the latest news, blogs and podcasts at FFC – ed.
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good article from you guy i hope he need to think twice before any tranfer on this summer and within the back line four.
it was written by a lass, not a lad…
Yes, young prayers are good, but we need our EPL honour back next season amen.
Spearing was blooded by Rafa, Kelly by Hodgson
Xile, Robinson was blooded by Rafa on that basis also… his last ever game as manager v Hull!
I think what Jenny is trying to say is that we have lots of great youngsters coming through, and there is a balancing act to be achieved; bring in sufficient quality to enhance the first 11, whilst making sure that the route for our youngsters to the first team, is not completely blocked.
See the thing is, I’d rather have youngsters like Pacheco replacing Cole, because in the few games that the “killer” played he’s done more, except scoring (but he’s played random games where Cole has had more opps). Then you have the Flanno and Robbo, but to be honest, I think they’re too young to start unless there are injuries or a couple of years older! Martin Kelly is a must! and should be at RB or CB! Everyone wants a winger, but I’m sure Adam could do a better job than most out there and stick Johnson on the right based on the formation! Our problem is the need to get rid of Agger! (fan fav, don’t worry mates, I’ve got his shirt at the bottom of the others, because I rarely see him play!=injury prone). Remove Agger and loan out Wilson and start to play Kelly with Carra/Skrtel (who should also eventually go) with Soto/Wisdom (blood the youth!) as back ups. ‘Pool’s most intriguing players in the youth system are Sterling and Silva! Wingers with a force to get the ball in the box and score! Then you have Suso behind strikers (still too young), Bruna (not given a chance), Coady (we’ll a great back line with Wilson and Wisdom in the future, may be even as a DM), Ngoo, Morgan (potentially the next big thing. I think we avoided Wickham because of having Morgan!) and a potential replacement for Reina in about 5 years (Belford)…Our future is bright, but we must do it right by loaning out our players instead of having a whole season in the reserves! put them in real situations to assess their true ability. Just look at what Pacheco did last term! Sell the deadwood players and promote 3-4 youngsters on the bench…